McAfee becomes Intel Security because strippers and cocaine aren’t great for PR

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There was a time when the name McAfee made people think of antivirus software. Nowadays, however, it’s more likely to evoke images of guns, strippers, and cocaine snorting thanks to the notorious antics of former head honcho John McAfee.

There’s no question that it was time to re-brand. John McAfee’s name had popped up prior to his 2012 arrest in Belize by the country’s anti-gang task force on suspicion of murder. Back then, he was active on various underground forums swapping recipes for bath salts and trading tips on how best to get high using chemical suppositories.

But when McAfee hit YouTube last summer with his bizarre NSFW video about uninstalling McAfee software, Intel’s board members surely decided that it was high time for a change.

Beyond McAfee’s personal shenanigans, there’s also the lingering stigma of that disastrous 2010 definition update that saw McAfee software brick tens of thousands of corporate Windows XP computers. With Intel’s sights set on offering “a safe digital experience for every person on Earth,” it’s important that they have a brand name that’s seen as trustworthy, reliable, and respectable.

Intel also announced that they’re going to offer up certain Intel Security products for free, which certainly sounds awesome, but it’s something McAfee has done for years.

If they’re greatly improved, this is great news. If their only real redeeming feature is that they’re free, however, then all that’s changed is the name on the bloatware.